'Like someone was holding him hostage.' Paxton accused of covering up efforts to help real estate investor
Editor's Note: The above video explains the impeachment trial rules for suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- House impeachment managers revealed new allegations against suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, just weeks before the start of his impeachment trial. The accusations came out Tuesday in responses to motions filed by Paxton's attorneys to dismiss the charges against him.
The responses detail steps Paxton is accused of taking to help real estate developer Nate Paul. Paul was the subject of an FBI raid and currently faces multiple federal felony counts filed this summer, connected to allegations he made false statements to financial institutions.
The House managers claim Paul wanted to see the FBI's sealed search warrant affidavit, and that Paxton helped him get that confidential material.
The managers claim Paul created an Uber account for Paxton under the alias "Dave P." The managers claim Paxton and Paul both used the account. They claim Uber records show that Paxton used the account to travel to the apartment of his mistress.
Paxton posted a statement on the social media platform X from his attorney Tony Buzbee, calling the House managers' accusations "A tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." The statement came from a reply in support of the motion to dismiss the articles, which was filed before the latest motion from the House managers.
"Attorney General Ken Paxton has neither sought nor accepted a bribe, and the House Managers' slanderous accusation to the contrary is meritless, no matter how many times they repeat it," the statement added.
House managers argue because Paxton took steps to deny some of the connections about his alleged relationship with Paul, his team can not claim voters forgave Paxton when they re-elected him.
"Paxton claims the public knew about all his misconduct and, by re-electing him in 2022, must have forgiven him for his offenses. Substantial evidence shows otherwise," one of the responses stated.
The report noted that senior staff members working for Paxton warned him about concerns they had about Paul.
"For months, OAG Senior Staff had told Paxton what Director of Criminal Law Enforcement, David Maxwell said from the beginning — that Paxton 'need[ed] to get away from [Paul]. He's a criminal,'" the response shows.
The Senate Impeachment trial is set to start Sept. 5.